How was PRISM created?

PRISM was developed in three distinct, consecutive stages

PRISM map

Stage 1


Behaviour and the brain's chemical systems

Stage 2


The PRISM behaviour measurement scales

Stage 3


Traditional psychometric measurement and validation techniques

The Stage 3 process is most important because it clearly shows that PRISM is a very accurate measurement instrument in its own right.
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The validity studies provided strong support for the validity and reliability of the English version of the PRISM scale. These findings are further strengthened by the international and cross-cultural nature of the sample that was used in this study. The power of PRISM is that it is not a classification tool in the traditional sense. In other words, the tool is not used to classify individuals into only one dimension. The PRISM model recognises that individuals will have characteristics from all eight dimensions to a greater or lesser extent. What is produced is a unique ‘brain map’ that shows the individual’s preferred ways of working, and also those behaviours they would rather avoid. ”

More information regarding the validity study can be found by clicking these relevant links
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   Creating the scales
   Validating the scales
Various scientific studies have shown that the four brain chemical systems which underpin PRISM are different in terms of how they influence behaviour. Brain circuits and networks – not just the number of brain cells – are the key to brain function. It is important to regard brain circuits as ‘relationships’. Those that are nurtured survive and strengthen; those that are neglected diminish and disappear. This is the essence of neuroplasticity.
In November 2013, a group of researchers from Einstein College of Medicine, New York, the University of California, Santa Barbara, and Rutgers University, New Jersey, published a report based on a totally independent study of the same four brain chemical systems as used in the construction of the PRISM measurement scales in 2002. For details of that study see:
Brown LL, Acevedo B, Fisher HE (2013) - Neural Correlates of Four Broad Temperament Dimensions: Testing Predictions for a Novel Construct of Personality. PLoS ONE 8(11): e78734.
http://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0078734